Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron (born October 18, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He plays Troy Bolton in High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray.In 2007, before the release of High School Musical 2, Rolling Stone declared him the "poster boy for tweenyboppers" and featured him in their late August 2007 issue. Efron has since starred in the films 17 Again, Me and Orson Welles, and Charlie St. Cloud. Early life and background Efron was born in San Luis Obispo, California, and later moved to Arroyo Grande, California. His father, David Efron, is an engineer at a power plant, and his mother, Starla Baskett, is a former secretary who worked at the same power plant.Efron has a younger brother, Dylan, and had a self-described "normal childhood" in a middle class family.He is of Jewish ancestry and is an agnostic, having never been religious.His surname, "Efron", means "lark" in Hebrew. Efron has said that he would "flip out" if he got a "B" and not an "A" in school, and has also described himself as having been a class clown.Efron's father encouraged him to begin acting when Efron was 11 years old. He subsequently appeared in theater productions at his high school,worked in a theater called The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville,and began taking singing lessons. Efron performed in plays such as Gypsy; Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up; Little Shop of Horrors; and The Music Man. He was recommended to an agent in Los Angeles by his drama teacher, Robyn Metchik (the mother of actors Aaron Michael Metchik and Asher Metchik).Efron was later signed to the Creative Artists Agency. Education Efron graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 2006,and was then accepted into the University of Southern California, but has deferred his enrollment to work on film projects. Efron also attended Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, a community college located in Santa Maria, California, which provided him with the opportunity to perform as a "young player" during the years of 2000 and 2001. Career In 2006, Efron starred in the Disney Channel original movie High School Musical as Troy Bolton, the popular student and captain of the basketball team. The film, which he initially made with "low expectations", helped Efron gain recognition among teenage audiences as both an actor and a singer, even though his singing voice was overdubbed. As a result, he placed as high as #4 on the IMDBPro's STARMeter for the week of January 29, 2006. In August 2006, Efron won a Teen Choice Award in the Breakout Star and the TV — Choice Chemistry categories, shared with Vanessa Hudgens. The film's cast, along with Efron, toured Sydney, Australia, London, England, and other locations to promote the film. Shortly after High School Musical aired, Efron debuted with two simultaneous charted songs on Billboard Hot 100 on February 4, 2006, with "Get'cha Head in the Game" and "Breaking Free", a duet with Vanessa Hudgens from the film. On the following week's chart, Efron had five simultaneous song credits from High School Musical: "Get'cha Head in the Game", "Start of Something New", "What I've Been Looking For: Reprise", "We're All in This Together" and "Breaking Free." "We're All in This Together" was credited to the whole High School Musical cast. "Breaking Free", at the time, made the fastest climb in the history of the Billboard charts, from #86 to #4 between the two weeks; the record was beaten by Beyoncé and Shakira's "Beautiful Liar". Efron also appeared in the 2006 Disney Channel Games as captain of the Red Team. Efron's singing talents were disputed when it was revealed that Drew Seeley's voice was blended with his on the [[High School Musical Soundtrack|soundtrack of High School Musical]]. An August 23, 2007 interview in Rolling Stone magazine revealed that he had been cast in High School Musical after the songs were written, and the songs (written for a tenor) were somewhat out of his baritone vocal range. 2007 - present High School Musical 2 was released in August 2007. Additionally, Lycos reported searches for Efron surged by 81%. The film set a new record, becoming the most watched basic cable program in U.S. history, with 17.2 million viewers. Efron reprised his role in High School Musical 3 Senior Year, which was theatrically released on October 24, 2008. His next role was in 17 Again, a high school-set comedy-drama produced by Adam Shankman and based on a pitch by Jason Filardi; the plot involved an adult who is transformed into a 17-year old (played by Efron). 17 Again was released in 2009. Personal life Efron owns an apartment in Los Angeles, California. On January 15, 2008, Efron was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for an emergency appendectomy.Efron was also on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2008, as number 92 with an estimated earning of $5.8 million from June 2007 to June 2008. As of April 5, 2009, his personal wealth equaled about $10 million.People magazine said in 2007 that Efron and Vanessa Hudgens began dating in 2005 during the filming of High School Musical, although Us magazine said, after the two broke up in December 2010, that the two "met in 2005 while making the first High School Musical flick, and became a romantic item about two years later." Filmography Other awards *2006 - Teen Choice Award: Choice Breakout Star *2007 - Kids' Choice Award: Best Male Actor *2007 - Teen Choice Award: Choice Male Hottie Discography Soundtracks * ''High School Musical 2'' (2007) * ''High School Musical 3 Senior Year'' (2008) Charted songs Official Account * Zac Efron on Twitter * Zac Efron on Facebook * Zac Efron on Instagram * Zac Efron on Insstar.com * Zac Efron on Instagweb.com * Zac Efron on Buzzcent.com * Zac Efron on Insstars.com * Zac Efron on Photostags.com References External links